They all showed typical Scandinavian stoicism, holding it together through most of the ceremony.

However the procession of the white coffin to the graveside proved too much for many. They broke down into desperate sobs as it passed.

Inside, the ceremony was poignant for someone who spanned two countries, two cultures and two religions - it was the first ever in Norway – and maybe the world - to combine Christian and Muslim beliefs.

The Imam Ghulam Abbas stood side by side with the Lutheran priest Anne Marit Tronvik, united they said in grief, hope and togetherness.

They told how fun-loving Bano combined all that was good in Norway and her native Kurdistan – and would prove a beacon for a brighter future.

Vicar Tronvik said: "This country has been struck by an awful terrible tragedy. There are many people here today who share this enormous grief.

"This ceremony is very Bano. She was Norwegian, she was a Kurd. Two nations, two cultures and two religions and they all meet today.

"This will go down as a sign of hope for our future."

Imam Abbas added: "We are sending out a clear message that we want to be together – to share everything and have an even better and brighter future for our children."

Their message was echoed by the country's foreign minister Jonas Jahr Store who also attended the ceremony.

"Bano sought safety in 1996 and ended up being caught up in the middle of the most violent tragedy in our history," he said.

"But I think that seeing the imam and the priest together – unified and relaxed - is perhaps the most powerful message that can be sent out to counter this most heinous crime."

Among the tears there was some light relief.

Fitting for a girl who was said to be "always happy", Charlie Chaplin's song Smile was played to the congregation.

Then the Lord's prayer was recited, before the coffin draped in the Kurdish flag was marched to a corner of the graveyard that had been specially consecrated for a Muslim burial.

There after a short Islamic ceremony Bano was finally laid to rest. Her friend Ayesha, tears in her eyes and clutching a single red rose that has become a symbol of Norway's grief, said that contrary to

Breivik's desire her death would make the country more integrated.

"This will make us more tolerant, bring us together, make Norway a safer place for people to come too," she said.

Meanwhile at a separate memorial in the centre of Oslo, the prime minister Jens Stoltenberg led a minute's silence before hundreds of his party, the youth wing of which was targeted by Breivik.

"The bullets hit our young, but they also struck an entire nation," he said of the gun rampage on Utoya island in which 68 of the victimswere killed.

"An attack against political engagement is an attack on our democracy. Today, it is exactly one week since Norway was struck by evil.

"Now, the time has come to commemmorate those who died."

Flags flew at half-mast across the country of five million, including at the suspect's high-security prison, as formal grieving began for those killed in the July 22 gun and bomb attacks.

The Labour Party youth-wing leader Eskil Pedersen, who was on the island retreat when the gunman started his shooting spree, said the attack "would not destroy Norway's commitment to democracy, tolerance and fighting racism."

"Long before he stands before a court we can say 'he has lost'," he said.